The British Virgin Islands Athletic Association will celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2010 and one of the ways the association intends to commemorate the occasion, is by producing an anniversary book to highlight the achievements of the islands’ athletes, who competed over the past 40 years.
President of the BVIAA Dean Greenaway, said the book will highlight the achievements of the last 40 years ns honor all BVI national record breakers and international medalists.
In the past year, BVIAA introduced an ‘Athlete of the Week’ program, which highlights youth, junior and senior performance, and a National Record Breakers Recognition program. A new format was introduced for youth championships, with the top performers from the Inter-Primary Schools Championships. The association also dropped ‘amateur’ from its name and designed a new logo.
Greenaway feels the mondo track on the island has contributed to the growth of the track and field in the BVI. ‘With our Mondo track inaugurated in 2008, we have seen improvements in overall performances. More of our athletes have gone on to college in the United States and have been exposed to stiffer competitions. Additionally, more of our coaches have also improved on their IAAF coaching qualifications which has helped in the development and identification of young talent.’
Pictured here is Tahesia Harrigan, who won the 100 meters at the Caribbean and Central American Championships in Cuba in July. Harrigan then became our first IAAF World Championships semifinalist and also came within .02 secs of her national record when she ran 11.15 at the Reebok meet in New York. For 2010, Greenaway is hoping Harrigan can continue where she left off in 2009 and win another medal at the World Indoor championships in Doha, Qatar in March.
